Passenger Detained after Bomb Threat at LaGuardia

The flight in question, on the runway.

Police today detained a passenger at LaGuardia Airport — yanking him off a flight after the man refused to turn off his cell phone and made an alleged threat about an explosive device.

The suspect made the remark to a fellow passenger as Spirit Airlines Flight 197 to Fort Lauderdale sat on the runway. The threat was overheard by a flight attendent.

All flights were delayed out of LaGuardia while authorities re-screened all luggage on the flight. The average delay was 26 minutes.